GD Ch. 42

Chapter 42: Why Do You Hope For Her Return?

The clam demon kept her head lowered until Jing Kexin suddenly yanked her hair.

Jing Kexin said, “I brought you here to serve Her Grace, not to play dead. Lift your heads and let her see your faces. If she takes a liking to you, you might just get to stay.”

Forced to raise her head, the clam demon revealed a face that was delicate and refined, understated yet elegant—a stark contrast to the heavily made-up women beside her.

For a moment, she panicked but quickly forced a smile, unaware that her identity as a spy had already been exposed.

Zhuyou glanced at her with an eerie calmness, slowly curling her five fingers resting on the armrest into a loose fist.

She was not entirely without fear and was especially worried that this clam demon might notice something. Though Changying remained as she had been in her childhood—still devoid of dragon aura and spiritual power—she couldn’t be certain that the people from the Dragon Palace wouldn’t recognize her.

If Changying truly had returned through the recreation of her mortal body, there would surely be someone in the Three Realms who had seen her before—and if they had seen her, they would recognize her.

The kind of sorcery required to recreate a physical form was beyond ordinary beings. Such extraordinary talent would not go unnoticed in the Heavenly Realm.

At the very least, Zhuyou had never met anyone capable of mastering such a technique.

Still, she hoped someone would recognize Changying—so she could finally determine the dragon’s true identity. However, she did not want it to happen now. It was too soon. The drop of heart’s blood had not yet fully merged with her body. If something went wrong, they wouldn’t be able to share the consequences.

The clam demon winced at the sharp pain in her scalp and, upon lifting her eyes, met Zhuyou’s gaze.

She froze for a moment—then became utterly entranced.

Having spent years in the Dragon Palace, how could she not recognize this silver-haired, black-robed devil? Back when the Dragon and Phoenix clans arranged a marriage alliance, it was supposed to be this very person who would wed the Dragon Crown Prince Mangfeng. But fate took a different turn, and in the end, someone else was sent in her place.

Zhuyou slowly uncurled her fingers, her tense shoulders relaxing slightly as she noticed the clam demon subtly avert her gaze and steal a quick look at Changying.

There was no shock in the clam’s expression—her eyes remained calm before she quickly lowered them again. She didn’t seem to recognize the dragon.

She hadn’t discovered anything yet, but after lowering her head, she slightly turned her neck and inconspicuously glanced toward a pile of demon weapons in the corner. She was clearly searching for something in secret.

Changying remained silent, obediently standing still, not even sparing a glance at the little devils that Jing Kexin had brought into the Grand Hall.

Zhuyou found the dragon to be increasingly well-behaved. From the way she kept her eyes straight ahead, at least she wasn’t someone who could be easily lured away.

“Your Grace, I have brought you what you wanted. How do you plan to reward me?” Jing Kexin’s voice was sweet and sultry as she lifted a hand to play with her hair. Her eyes burned with an unrestrained fire as they roamed over Zhuyou’s figure.

Zhuyou could hardly tolerate this devil—of all the creatures in the Devil Realm, Jing Kexin was the one she found the most loathsome.

She didn’t know why Jing Kexin was so persistent, always managing to say things that made her stomach churn. Unable to endure the woman’s ravenous gaze any longer, she pulled Changying in front of her, using her as a partial shield.

“And how do you want me to reward you?”

Jing Kexin’s eyes lit up. “How about… I serve you tonight? Your Grace, what position do you like—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Zhuyou struck her across the face.

Midway through her indecent words, Jing Kexin was sent flying out of the hall, like a kite with a broken string.

With a muffled thud, she hit the sand outside, the impact sounding painful.

Zhuyou had used eighty percent of her strength, making sure to throw Jing Kexin out before she could say anything worse. She didn’t want to hear it herself, let alone let Changying’s ears be sullied by it.

She was used to such talk, but Changying—so naïve and unknowing—would have no understanding of these filthy matters.

Changying watched the devil crash outside the hall, momentarily bewildered. Before she could speak, Zhuyou cut her off, “Don’t ask.”

She became even more puzzled. She hadn’t even planned on asking anything.

Outside the hall, Jing Kexin slowly got up, her voice delicate and pitiful. “Your Grace, you’re still so impatient. I almost got hurt just now.” She paused, as if lamenting something, then added, “Why didn’t you strip me this time, Your Grace? It’s been so long since I was last hung outside the hall.”

Zhuyou nearly suffered a heart attack. Her face turned icy, and she spat out a single word, “Leave.”

But Jing Kexin wasn’t one to yield to harshness. She let out a soft, flirtatious whimper. “Won’t you keep me, Your Grace?”

Keep? Keep what? Zhuyou thought grimly—she was already showing restraint by not killing her on the spot.

Outside the hall, Jing Kexin rose slowly, brushing the sand from her clothes. She looked toward the entrance and said, “If you’re sending me away, at least keep these little ones. Someone has to serve you, Your Grace.”

With a sharp slap on the armrest, Zhuyou bit out coldly, “Take them all with you.”

As soon as she spoke, the little devils were tossed out one after another—just like Jing Kexin had been earlier.

Jing Kexin merely arched a brow, smiling knowingly. She gathered up the little devils and the clam demon before leaving.

Changying’s expression brightened slightly now that the disturbances were gone. She turned to Zhuyou and asked, “Why does she insist on serving you? And why would you strip her clothes?”

Who was stripping whose clothes?

Was that even a proper question?

It really wasn’t. Coming from a dragon’s mouth, it was more like a dragon’s howl.

Zhuyou was at a complete loss for words, nearly suffering a backlash from her own spiritual energy out of sheer frustration.

“I never actually intended to strip her,” Zhuyou gritted her teeth and quickly clarified.

“But you did strip her,” Changying asked coolly.

Zhuyou mulled over how to explain this. She couldn’t very well say that she had only done it to let that promiscuous devil vent her desires. If Changying kept pressing, she really wouldn’t have an answer.

Changying had only just shed her childlike innocence. She couldn’t hear such things—she shouldn’t hear such things.

Zhuyou noticed the dragon furrowing her brows in thought and immediately sensed trouble. Sure enough, when Changying spoke again, her words sent Zhuyou’s heart pounding, her blood alternating between hot and cold.

“She seems to enjoy stripping clothes. Her eyes lit up when she spoke about it. But what exactly does stripping clothes accomplish?” Changying asked, her expression puzzled.

Hanzhu, who had been standing by the flower pots for a while, sensibly shut the hall doors. Then she raised both arms and covered her ears—her mistress didn’t want to hear such things, so naturally, she shouldn’t either.

But Changying still pressed on. “Why does she do that?”

Zhuyou pressed a hand to her forehead, contemplating how to tear Jing Kexin into eight pieces as she replied, “You must remember this—those devils indulge in debauchery all day long, reveling in pleasure. Stripping clothes is just one of their amusements.”

Changying’s face paled slightly, her eyelashes fluttering. “Then why does she seek you out?”

“A devil seeking pleasure hardly chooses carefully. Her mind is probably so muddled with lust that she came to me to die,” Zhuyou said in disgust.

“Then have you ever sought pleasure this way?” Changying asked, serious as ever, her questions endless.

Zhuyou had no desire to continue this conversation. She waved her hand dismissively. “I have never done such a thing. If you ask again, I’ll sew your mouth shut.”

Only then did Changying fall silent, lowering her gaze in thought, though her confusion remained. Her expression was full of discontent.

Seeing that the dragon had stopped speaking, Hanzhu let her hands fall from her ears and took a few steps forward. “Mistress, what exactly did Jing Kexin mean by all that?”

“Among the people she brought, there was a spy from the Dragon Clan,” Zhuyou said grimly.

Hanzhu froze for a moment. “And the spy was just taken away like that? Is that alright?”

“It’s fine. That clam demon didn’t notice anything, and Jing Kexin won’t be able to get any useful information out of her,” Zhuyou said indifferently.

“Then will the Third Lord kill her to silence her?” Hanzhu asked in a hushed voice.

Zhuyou was about to nod when a sudden thought surfaced in her mind. Her brows knitted together, and she quickly raised a hand to stop Hanzhu from speaking further.

Hanzhu immediately shut her mouth, though she had no idea why her mistress’ expression had suddenly changed.

A sense of unease crept into Zhuyou’s heart. Without delay, she sent a wisp of her divine sense to follow Jing Kexin’s trail.

She had assumed that Jing Kexin would simply kill the clam demon. But as she searched, she realized that the clam demon was no longer within the devil’s domain—nor was Jing Kexin.

Hanzhu noticed every flicker of her mistress’s gaze and every furrow of her brow. She could tell that Zhuyou’s expression was growing colder. “Mistress, did the clam demon do something?” she asked, keeping her voice as low as possible.

Zhuyou’s frown deepened, and she straightened her posture, her usual laziness vanishing. “I’m not worried about what that clam demon has done.”

Hanzhu had more questions, but suddenly, she felt a chill run down half her body. When she turned her head, she met the dragon’s cold gaze.

She immediately understood—she had carelessly spoken too much in front of her mistress again. This dragon was going to push her away once more.

“But that Jing Kexin truly is insufferable,” Zhuyou continued. “She took the clam demon away.”

The spy from the Dragon Palace had indeed been taken away—by none other than Jing Kexin herself.

***

It had to be said, East Sea Monarch had quite the audacity. Perhaps he simply looked down on the devils of the Devil Realm, which was why he had sent such an unremarkable clam demon to investigate.

That clam demon was incapable of uncovering anything. She had sniffed around the Grand Hall, but she would never detect even a trace of dragon aura here—except on herself. There wasn’t a single wisp of dragon energy in the entire hall.

She had no way of finding the lost object from the Dragon Palace. She didn’t even seem to know what she was looking for, let alone whether it was a living being or an inanimate object. Otherwise, why would she be glancing between people and weapons alike?

She could only search based on East Sea Monarch’s orders, utterly clueless.

Jing Kexin had pulled the clam demon away midway, sending the remaining little devils back to her pleasure boat.

In the vast desert, the clam demon shivered, only to suddenly find Jing Kexin’s face drawing close—so close that only a single thread could pass between them.

Jing Kexin studied the clam demon for a long moment before speaking with great amusement. “Since Her Grace doesn’t want you, why don’t you follow me instead?” As she spoke, her eyes gleamed suddenly, as though a fire were burning within them.

The clam demon had never encountered a devil like this before. She let her guard down for just a moment, and in that instant, she fell into Jing Kexin’s trap.

Ensnared by the devil’s enchantment, she followed along in a daze.

Jing Kexin sent her soul out of her body and possessed the clam demon, using the demon’s aura to conceal her own demonic energy.

After leaving the devil’s domain, she descended into the East Sea, using the clam demon’s form to return to the Dragon Palace.

Once she had taken over the clam demon’s body, it would be difficult for anyone but those who knew her well to notice the change. Seeing her return, they happily escorted her straight to East Sea Monarch.

East Sea Monarch had governed this region for a long time. With demons and ghosts frequently infiltrating the Mortal Realm, managing such affairs was no small task. East Sea Monarch stationed here was no lesser than the divine dragons of the heavens.

They were all of the Dragon Clan—only their divine duties differed. There was no way to determine which was superior.

After entering the Dragon Palace, Jing Kexin was nearly overwhelmed by the immense pressure, almost leaking her devilish aura. Fortunately, she managed to suppress it—otherwise, her cover would have been blown.

East Sea Monarch sat upon a throne adorned with pearls and jade, his gaze indifferent. Though he did not speak, the sheer force of his presence made it impossible for her to lift her head.

Jing Kexin felt a deep sense of fear. She couldn’t understand how Zhuyou had managed to steal something from right under East Sea Monarch’s nose. She had initially believed she had a good grasp of this great demon’s abilities after a century of seclusion. But now, standing before East Sea Monarch herself, she found her confidence wavering.

What kind of power did it take for Zhuyou to feel no fear at all—to steal something and still escape unscathed?

If it had been her…

She wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Jing Kexin kept her head lowered, her eyes flickering with apprehension. The great demon now seemed even more unfathomable—far from the fragile, blind woman she appeared to be.

Fragility was impossible. A demon of such caliber could never afford to be weak.

“Any news?” asked the crab general standing beside East Sea Monarch, gripping his spear.

“The item is not in the devil’s domain.” After combing through the clam maiden’s spirit threads, Jing Kexin put on a convincing act.

“Among the Three Lords of the Devil Realm, was anyone recently seen leaving Shenhua Mountain? This matter concerns the Heavenly Realm—do not conceal anything,” the crab general pressed.

Jing Kexin hesitated for a moment. She had initially doubted that Zhuyou could have destroyed the Devil-Suppressing Tower, but hearing it from the crab general left her momentarily stunned. Her eyes flickered as she quickly replied, “I don’t know. But the Three Lords of the Devil Realm did descend to the human world recently, though I am unsure of their purpose.”

East Sea Monarch’s gaze darkened slightly. With a slight wave of his hand, he gestured for her to leave.

Jing Kexin retreated beyond the door. As she made her way back to the clam maiden’s quarters, a palace maid caught her by the arm. The young maid had a delicate and appealing appearance, looking quite… appetizing.

She hadn’t managed to satisfy her craving for something sweet with Zhuyou, so she instinctively licked her lips, suddenly feeling that this trip to the Dragon Palace shouldn’t be a wasted one.

The palace maid asked, “Did you find the lost item?”

Jing Kexin’s mind spun, and she replied, “I don’t even know what was lost—how could I possibly find it? But they did ask about Shenhua Mountain. Isn’t that a place only mortals visit? I wonder why East Sea Monarch would be interested in it.”

The palace maid frowned. “I served in the main hall for a few days and overheard that the lost item is something extraordinary, sustained by divine power. The monarch dares not make a fuss about it, likely fearing the Heavenly Emperor’s wrath.”

Even as a descendant of the Dragon Clan, he has probably never been granted such attention from the Heavenly Emperor, Jing Kexin mused.

“I suspect the lost item is a living being—perhaps some reincarnated saint. Ordinary divine artifacts, even if sentient, wouldn’t be enough to provoke the Heavenly Emperor’s fury,” the palace maid murmured, making no move to remove Jing Kexin’s hand from her waist. “If I’m wrong, just assume I’ve read too many storybooks.” She paused before adding, “I also heard rumors about Shenhua Mountain, though I can’t vouch for their truth. They say something was lost there—something that should have been protected. The Heavenly Emperor was so enraged that he even punished an immortal over it.”

Jing Kexin instantly understood. The “lost” thing was likely the Devil-Suppressing Tower, and the punished immortal was probably its guardian.

Her heart skipped a beat. That fallen divine offspring who emerged after centuries of seclusion… was utterly terrifying.

The pervasive Dragon Clan’s aura in the Dragon Palace made her tremble uncontrollably. Fearful as she was, she leaned in closer, her lips nearly brushing the palace maid’s earlobe.

The maid removed her hand and whispered, “Don’t mention this to anyone. I must go.”

Jing Kexin watched her walk away with some regret. Suddenly, the image of the frail young girl beside Zhuyou flashed through her mind. That girl had grown so tall in the blink of an eye. If she were an ordinary mortal child, she would be nearly an adult by now. She had a cold, aloof air—her delicate features were beautiful but distant, with eyes that were utterly indifferent.

Jing Kexin had her suspicions about the girl, but she had never detected even a trace of spiritual energy from her. If she were some reincarnated saint, that would be an insult to the title.

Impossible, she thought. That palace maid must have truly read too many stories.

Unable to withstand East Sea Monarch’s oppressive presence any longer, she soon shed the clam maiden’s body and returned to the Devil Realm.

The devil domain was a desolate expanse of yellow sand, stained like ink. Withered trees and charred mountains loomed in solitude.

***

Zhuyou had guessed that Jing Kexin had taken the clam maiden’s body to the Dragon Palace. Her mind was restless—she was terrified that the little dragon she had painstakingly hatched would be taken away. Her efforts could not be in vain. No, they must not be wasted. Though, to be fair, it wasn’t exactly a great effort—just a single drop.

By exchanging heart’s blood, one could share both fortune and misfortune while also transferring spiritual energy. It was a highly risky method, but Zhuyou had no other choice.

Her anxiety deepened as she worried that Changying might suddenly start exuding dragon energy. She wasn’t well-versed in the ways of the Dragon Clan, but the clam maiden might be. Though the clam maiden had acted as if she noticed nothing, Zhuyou couldn’t be sure she wasn’t just pretending.

Lost in her chaotic thoughts, she suddenly leaned toward Changying’s neck and sniffed deeply. She was close—so close that her breath, warm and steady, brushed against Changying’s ear.

Changying’s ear twitched slightly. Her cold, youthful features were tinged with confusion. She instinctively shifted away, but a warm hand gently caught her by the neck.

Zhuyou ran her fingers along Changying’s throat, took another deep sniff, and then straightened back up, highly satisfied with the scent of the dragon—

It was so faint, so dull, that it was practically human. No one would ever suspect a thing.

Changying’s mind, however, was muddled. She blankly wondered why this devil was leaning in so close—should she move away, or not? Before she could decide, Zhuyou withdrew her hand and her presence, as if nothing had happened.

Changying asked blankly, “Why did you sniff me?”

“What’s wrong with sniffing you?” Zhuyou replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Changying remained silent, her expression cold and unreadable.

Zhuyou counted on her fingers. “You eat my food, live in my home, and I even teach you how to read and draw. If you can’t repay me, then at least be obedient and don’t anger me.”

Changying couldn’t argue with that. She furrowed her brows, suppressing the strange feelings rising in her chest, and gave a slight nod.

“Mistress, the Third Lord is indeed no longer in the devil’s domain,” reported Hanzhu, who had just returned from her mission.

Zhuyou smirked. “She’s probably gone to the Dragon Palace. She should be back by now.”

“Shall we intercept the Third Lord?” Hanzhu asked hurriedly.

Zhuyou shook her head. “No need. If she has learned anything, she’ll come to me.”

From the side, Changying, who had been quiet for only a moment, suddenly asked, “Weren’t you hoping for her to leave? Why do you now hope for her to return?” Her voice was cold and indifferent, her deep gaze filled with suspicion—like someone who had just been tricked by a devil.